Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov

VIENNA, February 18, 3:38 /ITAR-TASS/. Russia has no illusions or high hopes ahead of talks between Iran and the P 5 + 1, five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told Itar-Tass upon arrival to Vienna on Tuesday.

“Let’s see what we’ll on hand after these negotiations but, honestly, everything is complicated now, since as you know the U.S. has recently expanded the list of sanctions against Iran, which does not help start negotiations by any means,” he said.

“The issues negotiators will discuss allow to expect only a slack progress,” Ryabkov added. “But we’ll work for a solution anyway. With no illusions or high hopes.”

“A period of difficult negotiations is starting now,” said the diplomat. “Surely, preliminary talks were not easy either but now we are facing a more momentous task as we need to work out a sustainable long-term decision. We do not have much time and we are only at the start of a long way.”

Implementation of the preliminary agreement, the so-called Geneva action plan that was coordinated last November started on January 20, Ryabkov added.

The current talks in Vienna have the same agenda as before.

“We need to determine parameters of the Iranian nuclear programme in the future, how these future parameters can be controlled and regulated in the way that would allow no doubt about the absence of military aspects in this programme,” Ryabkov said.